Meet your Democratic candidates

Thursday

Aug 21, 2014 at 5:31 PMAug 21, 2014 at 8:24 PM

Wicked Local Media has provided a set of questions to candidates in the 6th District Congressional race. For the next two weeks, we will run answers from the five candidates competing in the Democratic primary: Marisa DeFranco, John Devine, John Gutta, Seth Moulton, and incumbent John Tierney. The following week will be answers from Republican challenger Richard Tisei and independent Chris Stockwell.The Democratic primary is on Sept. 9. The answers that follow are the candidate's own words, edited only where necessary for length or grammar. For more information, get the latest election updates on masspoliticalnews.com.Your CandidatesMarisa DeFrancoAge: 44Hometown: Middleton, MAProfession: Attorney & BusinesswomanEducation: Juris Doctor, Suffolk University Law SchoolFamily: Husband, 19 yearsJohn DevineAge: 46Hometown: Born in Woburn, raised in Woburn, Lexington and RockportProfession: Paralegal and small business ownerEducation: Current: graduate student in Environmental Policy at University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth; B.A. Harvard University, 1994John GuttaAge: 72Hometown: GrovelandProfession: Candidate for CongressEducation: Physicist, self taught economistFamily: wife and two stepsonsSeth MoultonAge: 35Hometown: SalemProfession: EntrepreneurEducation: AB, Physics, Harvard University; MPA, Harvard Kennedy School; MBA, Harvard Business SchoolFamily: Lynn and Tom (parents), Cyrus and Eliza (siblings)John Tierney, IncumbentAge: 62Hometown: SalemProfession: Lawyer and CongressmanEducation: Salem State College, Suffolk University Law SchoolFamily: Wife, Patrice, and three stepsons1. What is your reaction to the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn the state's abortion clinic buffer zone law?DeFranco: The Supreme Court's decision is simply a bad one. Before the Buffer Zone, things were ugly and violent at women's clinics in Massachusetts. Tragically, the Supreme Court disregards a long history of jurisprudence supporting time, manner and place restrictions on free speech.Free speech does not give anyone the right to bully and verbally assault women. Period.I have a long, strong record of supporting women and women's rights. I have seen first-hand how anti-woman bullies push and shove women.For the Supreme Court to call the picketers “counselors” is a supreme offense to the real counselors who quietly work with women every day beyond the headlines. Moreover, they are “counseling” without a license, surely in violation of the law. I hope the legislature will act quickly to protect women within the unfortunate confines of this new decision and that the authorities will investigate counseling without a license.Devine: I find The Supreme Court of the United States' (SCOTUS) recent decision to overturn the state's abortion clinic buffer zone law wrong minded. SCOTUS' recent decision to overturn the Commonwealth's abortion clinic buffer zone centers on a conflict between the First Amendment and both the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments.While I support free speech secured by the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, right to privacy secured by the Fourteenth Amendment should prevail with consideration to healthcare access. Nobody should have to fight past a crowd attempting to bar their way when in search of a physician's care.Gutta: I didn't like it. No one should have the right or the opportunity to assault others for not having children that they don't want or can't afford - and replacing Reaganism with capitalism would eliminate the concern “can't afford.” As a lawmaker, I would strongly support contraception. (Abstinence is anti-sex contraception.) And at this point, the economic niggardliness of our predominantly Republican anti-abortion protestors has led me to favor mandatory adoption of all unwanted children by registered pro-life advocates, with the children placed by lottery.Moulton: I am extremely disappointed by the recent Supreme Court decision striking down Massachusetts' buffer zone law. The buffer zone was established in the wake of a ruthless double homicide in 1994, and in the 20 years since then the passion and rhetoric around this issue has not abated. Women have a right to make their own health care decisions free of harassment. The Supreme Court's decision in McCullen v. Coakley is a huge step backward.I applaud Massachusetts' swift action in passing the Safe Access Law to ensure safety and unimpeded access to reproductive health care facilities. At the same time, I urge the federal government to take necessary steps to address violence and harassment targeting reproductive health clinics. Going forward, we should be protecting and expanding access to reproductive healthcare for women, not restricting women's rights.Tierney: I strongly believe and have fought to ensure that women are able to make their own, personal health care decisions and that they have access to health and reproductive services without being harassed or intimidated. The Court's ruling is extremely concerning and puts women in danger.I am pleased the state responded by taking legislative action to curb harassment and obstruction outside clinics. Whether through a right-wing Court ruling or because of Speaker Boehner and extremist Republicans, the war on women must end. I will continue the fight in Congress to preserve and protect women's rights including ensuring women are no longer charged more for the same health care coverage as men, strengthening protections for domestic violence and sexual assault victims, ensuring equal pay for equal work, and requiring employers to provide earned sick time.2. Name three issues on which you see a possibility of compromise and progress in Congress. Where does the zone of compromise lie on these issues, and how would you “get to yes” in terms of passing legislation on them?DeFranco: Compromise and progress are possible if voters send clean money candidates to Washington who are not beholden to special interests. I am the only candidate who passes that test. Any issue must meet this common sense test; 1. Is it good for small businesses and job creation? 2. Is it good for hardworking taxpayers? 3. Is it good for America? My solutions meet this test.Immigration: My reform is not the big corporate giveaway that is the "Gang of Eight" bill. My reform ensures the security of our borders and the sovereignty of our laws. Real reform is harsh fines for employers exploiting immigrants, increased border and port security, and a path to legalization, not citizenship. Legalization must include a long-term plan to stop illegal border crossings and overstays.Tax Cuts for Small Businesses: Our tax code is illogical - a small business that makes $100,000 is paying essentially the same tax rate as a business making $10 million. Lower the business tax rate from the actual rate of 34 percent to 26 percent for small businesses between $335,000 and $1 million. These cuts will fuel job growth on Main Street.Cut all corporate subsidies: Congress freely hands out taxpayer dollars in the form of corporate subsidies to the biggest corporations while small businesses are closing down on Main Street. It's a nifty trick - take taxes from small businesses on the front end, subsidize corporate monopolies with no strings attached, stack the odds so small businesses can't compete; monopolies gobble up Main Street and grow even bigger. Once monopolies have control of the market, they increase prices, and the consumer pays the bill on the back end. My plan ends this vicious job-killing cycle.Devine: Inequity - We must balance our budget. That's the first priority of any house. During five of the last six years, Congress has failed to pass a budget. As a result, the United States' credit rating has taken a hit. We need to pay down the debt and raise America's credit rating back to where it belongs, AAA status. We need to raise the minimum wage. We need to guarantee equal pay in the workforce for women. We need maternity and sick leave for young mothers. We need tough standards against lending institutions charging usurious rates. We need to provide affordable higher education, tuition reimbursement, loan forgiveness, college loan refinancing. We need to tie college loan rates to low, fixed Treasury rates.The environment - Environmental concerns have far-ranging implications on our economy, agricultural production, our collective well-being, good health. Costs of doing business soar when one takes into account external costs in climate change and cleanup. It only makes sense to protect our environment. In doing so it helps to fight inequity, as doing business in an environmentally friendly manner puts less strain on the taxpayer's dollars; it makes businesses more efficient and productive. This, then, frees capital to address other areas of need.Mental health care - There are many social ills we as a society need to confront - addiction, rising jail populations and homelessness. These ills are symptoms of a common underlying cause, namely a lack of a national mental health care policy. All indications are that preventative health care measures help to lower healthcare costs. The American Psychiatric Association has called on Congress for biological screening in preventative mental health care. There have been great advances in brain science in recent decades. It's time the law caught up with the science.Gutta: This question is way too restrictive. To cure our morally ill economy, we must replace Reaganism with capitalism in America. How? By doing all of the following: Tax estates and income progressively; eliminate all federal taxes on household income under $40,000 a year; end outsourcing by restoring tariffs on slave wage nations; end overseas military occupations and secure our borders; eliminate corporate taxes in exchange for a living minimum wage for all working adults (at least $15 an hour); nationalize the Federal Reserve; and raise the annual revenue that we need to rebuild our infrastructure, restore the environment, and provide services for our disabled, sick, and elderly. How do we “get to yes” on all of this? We replace bribed lawmakers. I encourage anyone seeking more information to visit my website, johngutta.net.Moulton: I will never compromise my core, Democratic principles, but I am committed to finding common ground to get things done. Here are three specific examples:Gun control. 96 percent of Americans support mandatory background checks on the purchase of guns, yet Congress can't get it done. Gun violence is a personal issue for me. As a Marine, I've used guns, and I understand better than most in Congress the tremendous damage guns can cause. I can speak, in very real terms, to gun rights advocates about why civilians don't need weapons designed for war. We need members of Congress who are not only strong supporters of gun violence prevention, but who also can build the coalitions necessary to make progress.Immigration Reform. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have acknowledged the urgent need to address our border crisis as well as broader immigration issues. Because each side has priorities that are in our common interest—both securing our borders and improving the process of legal immigration—there is room for legislative compromise. I have met with a new coalition of law enforcement officials, startup entrepreneurs, and religious leaders and will be active in bringing diverse groups like that together to make progress in Congress.Pay Equity. Despite The Equal Pay Act in 1963, women are still paid less than men for the same work. In Congress, I will work to pass tougher legislation, and here at home, I will work with local businesses to establish a certification system I recently proposed, similar to the LEED energy efficiency standards, that will incentivize companies to demonstrate that they have met equal pay standards on their own. Equality is in everyone's interest, and if the military can pay men and women the same for the same work, corporate America should, too.Tierney: Creating jobs, addressing student loan debt, and making sure women receive equal pay for equal work are all important issues Congress should pass.This summer, I was invited to attend the bill signing of the bi-partisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act at the White House. I authored key components of this legislation, which will help workers get the skills they need and ensure businesses can hire qualified personnel to grow. This is the biggest jobs bill of the year, and I was proud to play an important role in crafting and advancing it. This jobs bill passed with support of 95 percent of Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, and I believe it's a model for how Congress should approach other important issues.Congress should address the student loan crisis in this country. One place to start is responsible legislation that Elizabeth Warren and I authored to give tens of millions of student loan borrowers the opportunity to refinance their loans at the same rate students get for new loans.It is long past time to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. Right now, a woman who works full-time earns on average just 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. That's unacceptable, and Congress should take action.I strongly believe these common sense ideas would pass with wide bipartisan margins. The only thing standing in the way is Speaker Boehner, who continues to cater to the radical members of his Caucus by recklessly attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act over 40 times and desperately trying to sue President Obama. If Speaker Boehner opts to instead govern in the “zone of compromise” and bring bills to the floor that will pass with bipartisan support, Congress can get meaningful things done for the American people.